8 January

National Lottery Heritage Grants £10,000 to £250,000 

St Mary and the Holy Cross, Alderminster Tower Restoration Project

Applicant: Parochial Church Council of Alderminster

Project description: This project seeks to restore the 13th century bell tower of the Grade II* listed church of St Mary and the Holy Cross in Alderminster, near Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwickshire.

Decision: Award grant of £118,937 (73%)

23 January

National Lottery Heritage Grants £10,000 to £250,000 

Roots of Nuneaton: Then & Now

Applicant: The Positive Impact Foundation CIC

Project description: A community heritage project sharing stories, memories, and experiences from people who live in Hilltop, Nuneaton.

Decision: Reject

Alford Manor House: Saving Miss Higgins' Legacy

Applicant: Alford and District Civic Trust Ltd

Project description: To carry out repairs to the thatched roof of the Grade II* listed Alford Manor House in Lincolnshire, alongside activities to increase engagement and footfall including enhanced digital presence.

Decision: Award grant of £249,875 (83%)

Restoration of St Peter's Bells and Tower

Applicant: The Parochial Church Council of Sibthorpe

Project description: This project would involve structural repairs to the bell frames and the augmentation of the bells from a peal of four to six at the Grade I listed St Peter’s Church, Sibthorpe, Nottinghamshire, with community and educational outreach to accompany the capital works.

Decision: Reject 

A traditional marriage comparison between England and the Ndebele of Zimbabwe and South Africa

Applicant: Destiny House Worldwide Ministries

Project description: This Northampton-based project seeks to raise awareness about the traditional marriage customs of the Ndebele people from Zimbabwe and South Africa by comparing them with English traditions.

Decision: Reject

Chelmsford Multicultural Heritage Day

Applicant: Isa.Connect CIC

Project description: To promote the heritage and culture of the different communities living in Chelmsford, culminating in a day-long event and publication.

Decision: Award grant of £19,600 (100%)

East Harling – Under One Roof

Applicant: The Parochial Church Council of East and West Harling

Project description: To repair the Grade I listed Church of St Peter and St Paul in East Harling, near Norwich, and deliver a programme of community learning, wellbeing and conservation activities.

Decision: Award grant of £234,678 (48%)

Knit Together: Preserving Bangladeshi Textile Heritage

Applicant: Creative Vision Luton Limited

Project description: To preserve and share the untold story of the Bangladeshi community’s migration to Bedford and Luton and its involvement in the textile industry from the 1960s onwards.

Decision: Reject

Ami Sylhoti Bangali (I am Sylheti Bengali)

Applicant: Bangladesh Youth League Luton

Project description: To create a virtual museum of Sylheti and Bengali heritage, accompanied by touring exhibitions, workshops and performances across five chosen locations.

Decision: Award grant of £248,381 (98%)

UK Live Contemporary Comedy Photography Archive

Applicant: Big Difference Company Limited

Project description: This Leicester-based project aims to create a national archive of live comedy, focusing on collecting photographs of live performances, with archive training from De Montfort University.

Decision: Reject

The 'A Gateway to Lincoln' Phase 1 Heritage Project: Strategic planning, building capacity, and creating a co-created, inclusively designed portable exhibition of Medieval South-East Lincoln with print, digital and live interpretations.

Applicant: Acoustic Nations Live CIC

Project description: To explore and celebrate the medieval heritage of South Lincoln from its base at the Grade II listed St Katherine’s Church complex, that stands on the site of the former St Katherine’s Priory, making it more visible and accessible to local communities and visitors.

Decision: Defer

Warming The Heart of Somerby

Applicant: The Parochial Church Council of Somerby

Project description: This viability project will help to understand the condition of the Grade I listed All Saints Church in Somerby, Leicestershire. It will determine the cost of future repairs, statutory responsibilities and options for a wider heritage engagement project.

Decision: Award grant of £38,738 (85%)

Bricks of History: Exploring St Stephen's Church

Applicant: Parochial Church Council of Alrewas (St Stephen's Church, Fradley)

Project description: To inspire local school children to explore, understand and value the heritage of the Grade I listed St Stephen’s Church in Fradley, Staffordshire, through designing and creating a LEGO model of the building.

Decision: Reject

St Cuthbert's Clungunford Bell-tower repair project

Applicant: Parochial Church Council of Clungunford

Project description: To save the built fabric of the Grade II* listed St Cuthbert's Church in Clungunford, Shropshire, with essential repairs, as well as activities to enhance understanding of the church’s heritage.

Decision: Award grant of £47,005 (55%)

Restore the Floor to Reopen the Door

Applicant: The Parochial Church Council of Dry Doddington

Project description: To save access to heritage at the Grade II* listed St James’s Church in Dry Doddington, Nottinghamshire, by upgrading uneven flooring throughout the nave and engaging the community with its heritage.

Decision: Reject

Stories from our streets – Kirby Muxloe

Applicant: Imaginarium Creations CIC

Project description: This project will digitise, expand upon and reinterpret the existing research material owned by the Kirby Muxloe History Group to increase awareness of this Leicestershire village’s heritage, with a particular focus on younger residents.

Decision: Reject

Restoring Heritage At Anne Hathaway's Cottage

Applicant: The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust

Project description: To carry out essential repairs to this Grade I listed timber-framed building in Shottery, near Stratford-upon-Avon, as well as engagement activities, to conserve Anne Hathaway's Cottage and contribute to organisational resilience of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

Decision: Award grant of £244,944 (86%)

Walking and Working Westings Meadow

Applicant: Art Pop-Up

Project description: Westings Meadow is a 500-acre flood meadow near Peterborough, with a heritage including a County Wildlife Site designation, literary references, communal stewardship, enclosure, mechanisation and flood control. This project will work with local people to preserve at-risk memories of its pre-industrial past and help communities reconnect with their natural and working heritage.

Decision: Award grant of £40,197 (89%)

For the Love of East Midlands Jazz (FTLOJ East.Mids.) – regional heritage research collective

Applicant: Cosmopolitan Arts CIC

Project description: This Leicester-based project aims to document and celebrate the history of jazz music in the East Midlands through the collection of oral histories alongside the delivery of a touring exhibition and jazz heritage show.

Decision: Reject

A tower of strength and hope, restoring the past to shape our future – St. Anne's tower restoration

Applicant: The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Anne, Worksop

Project description: To deliver repair works to the tower of the Grade II listed St Anne's church in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, alongside a programme of engagement activities.

Decision: Reject

Towering over Thursford for seven centuries, our heritage is too important to lose

Applicant: Thursford St Andrew's Parochial Church Council

Project description: To secure the long-term future of the Grade II* listed St Andrew's Church in Thursford, near Fakenham, Norfolk, by carrying out repairs and addressing the churchyard’s natural heritage, as well as engagement activities to ensure long term organisational sustainability.

Decision: Award grant of £158,548 (84%)

2Funky: 30 Years Strong

Applicant: 2Funky Arts Ltd

Project description: To collect oral histories and ephemera related to the history of the Leicester social enterprise, 2Funky, and its cultural impact in Leicester and the East Midlands, culminating in the production of a documentary film and an interactive exhibition.

Decision: Reject

Growing Birmingham – Heritage of Birmingham's Community Gardens and Growing Spaces

Applicant: Birmingham Open Spaces Forum

Project description: To record, share, and celebrate the heritage of Birmingham’s community gardens and food growing spaces. 

Decision: Reject

Forging Accessibility: Hands on Heritage

Applicant: Hereford Make CIC

Project description: This activity and resilience project seeks to engage under-served individuals with blacksmithing and undertake a feasibility study to review organisational development.

Decision: Reject

The Red Hall in Bourne – Heritage Serving Our Community

Applicant: Bourne United Charities

Project description: To develop a comprehensive understanding of the current condition of the Grade II listed Red Hall in Bourne, Lincolnshire, and help plan a sustainable future for the building.

Decision: Reject

Nature Nurturers

Applicant: Warwickshire Wildlife Trust

Project description: To deliver nature skills-based training programmes to empower Warwickshire communities to support nature recovery throughout the county.

Decision: Award grant of £248,829 (100%)

Old House, New Horizons

Applicant: Bakewell and District Historical Society

Project description: This resilience project plans to undertake crucial capital and visioning work to ensure the organisational sustainability of the Grade II* listed Old House Museum in Bakewell, Derbyshire.

Decision: Award grant of £198,205 (98%)

Safeguarding Frogmore Paper Mill: Urgent Stabilisation and Roof Repairs

Applicant: The Apsley Paper Trail

Project description: To carry out repairs to the Grade II* listed Frogmore Paper Mill in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. The mill is said to be the world's oldest mechanised paper mill and birthplace of modern papermaking. This project is intended to make it safe, watertight and resilient against weather conditions so it can once again welcome visitors, volunteers and learners.

Decision: Award grant of £231,500 (92%)

Nourishing Futures: Community Heritage, Breakfast Support and Wellbeing for Children and Families Because No Child is Allowed to Suffer.

Applicant: Triumphant Child CIC

Project description: The project aims to support the applicant organisation to provide food and counselling support to children in Thurrock, Essex.

Decision: Reject